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Born in Auckland, New Zealand, the eldest of five, whom according to Tua are a “fruit salad” of rich, mixed Polynesian blood, Cook Island-Tahitian on his mother’s side and New Zealand Maori-Cook Islands on his fathers side. Tua’s family relocated to Rarotonga when he was five years old.

In 1985 when Tua was 18 years old, Hokulea visited Rarotonga. During the hurricane season that year, Hokulea was left in the hands of Tua and his brothers to keep her safe. When the vaka began voyaging again they invited an indigenous person from each stop along the way, and Tua was asked to join. After his first voyage he swore never to go back to sea again. But when the invitation to join the crew from Rangiroa to Hawai’i came up, he went. On board was Micronesian Master Navigator Mau Pialug.

In 1992 the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands sent out a challenge to all canoes in the region to sail to Rarotonga for the Pacific Arts Festival using non-instrument navigation. Accepting the challenge, the Polynesian Voyaging Society from Hawai’i said they would come under one condition, that Cook Island voyagers must learn to navigate their own canoe.

Photo credit: Kaimana Barcarse. Tua on board Hokule’a

On his second trip to Aitutaki onboard Hokulea, Mau handpicked Tua to join Nainoa Thompson and six of his fellow countrymen to learn this ancient tradition. Two decades later and thousands of miles of voyaging, Tua was bestowed the title of PWO or master navigator by Mau Pialug in Micronesian in 2008.

As a thank you to Nainoa and Mau, Tua made a lifelong promise to teach others and continue to nurture this tradition. Throughout the ‘Te Mana O Te Moana’ Voyage PWO navigators Tua, Peia and Jacko Thatcher took turns on each of the 7 vaka, working with the new crop of young navigators. The navigator has to memorise up to 200 stars in the sky, differences in constellation, and understand where they are rising from on the star compass.

Despite the thousands of miles of voyages, and the opportunities a life at sea has afforded him, the father of five’s ultimate goal in life is simple: to support his remaining four children to let them know that he is always there, no matter where he actually is.